


In Which Cel Babbles

by teikouarc



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: it's there, not actually romantic yet but like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26903956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teikouarc/pseuds/teikouarc
Summary: Zolf has a quiet moment. Cel tries to say something nice, fails, and then maybe succeeds in the end.
Relationships: Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom/Zolf Smith
Comments: 15
Kudos: 28





	In Which Cel Babbles

**Author's Note:**

> I proofread this but I did not have another pair of eyes read over it so like.... typos ahoy probably! if you end up reading it, hope you enjoy. I've been in my zolf/cel corner for a few months now and I'm ridiculously excited that other people like it too

Life on the Vengeance was busy. Even after the crew all started getting into the swing of things, Zolf found himself with little time to himself. Truthfully, that was exactly how he preferred things; no time to spiral when you have things to fix after all, and there were always things to fix here. He took his duty as First Mate seriously, and that meant even his down time could often be eaten up by running interference between Earhart and Wilde for example.

It was comfortable. He might even venture to say it was the best he had felt since the world went to hell.

But even with all of his work, he still sometimes found himself with absolutely nothing to do. If he wasn’t in the mood for a Campbell novel or a nap, he might find himself in Wilde's bar, disinterestedly sipping on some grog while taking in the view. It was one of these times that Cel sat down next to him, quiet and contemplative in a way that meant they had something to say to him. He waited, in a good enough headspace that the silence didn’t immediately make his anxiety spike. When they finally broke the silence, it was with something Zolf couldn’t have predicted.

“I almost hated you.”

“…Pardon?”

Zolf was, of course, baffled. He often found himself struggling to keep up with Cel and the speed at which their mind moves, and try as he might to trace back through the thought process that brought them to _that_ , he just couldn’t figure out where this had come from.

Cel shifted in their seat and began fidgeting with their hands.

“Ah, well, you know. When we first met. Oh, um, not at the village! You seemed lovely enough at that point, and well, let’s just say you’re _much_ better at first impressions than Hamid is--"

“Cel.” Zolf cut off them off before they could get started on a ramble. “Pause. Back up. What is this?”

Zolf didn’t exactly consider himself to be the most likable guy out there, but it was still surprising to have something like that dropped on you by someone you considered a friend.

Cel wound up their face in what could best be described as a semi-grimace and tapped the improvised table between them anxiously. “The two of us didn’t exactly mesh well during our time at Shoin's. That much isn’t exactly a revelation to you, I’d imagine. And, well, truthfully I had nearly decided to write you off. Having met so many people in my travels, I began doing that more often. Why invest your time into a relationship that does not serve either party, right?”

Despite still not knowing where all this was going, Zolf simply nodded when Cel looked to him for a response.

Bolstered by this, Cel continued. “I’m not an unintelligent person, Zolf, but I’m by no means the smartest person out there either. I do still make mistakes. I stop thinking I have room to learn and grow in some aspects. And, well, to sum it up: my initial assessment of you was incorrect.”

Zolf blinked at Cel, waiting for them to continue, but they seem to have stalled out, staring at the table. He sat with that for a moment. He thought about their time spent in the Institute, and how he had treated Cel down there. He still didn’t necessarily think he was _wrong_ , but…

Zolf huffed a little, his next words coming out gruff and quiet. “Well, in all fairness, I think I probably make it pretty easy to hate me.”

The _”I sometimes hate me too, actually”_ was left unspoken but it rang out loudly in Zolf's head. He rested his hands on the table, wringing them together.

He was pointedly _not_ looking at Cel, but he could tell their head had snapped up at that. He could feel their eyes boring into him, studying him. The image of him under a microscope popped into his head unbidden, another little mystery for Cel to crack. He didn’t particularly like it.

Cel stopped staring at Zolf after a few beats, which did help a bit. He was still fielding some anxiety nausea when something cautiously touched his hands. It was his turn to jerk his head back now. Cel had reached across to him and had placed their hand on top of his.

“Is this okay?”

Thrown by this turn of events, Zolf only gave a tiny nod as an answer. Cel got the message and covered his hands with both of theirs, a bit more strength to it now.

“I’m sorry I judged you so quickly. I’m glad I was wrong. And—and honestly I should thank you, it’s truly a gift to be able to make mistakes and then learn from them. You helped me relearn something important. I, ah—”

Cel pulled their hands back suddenly as they cut themself off. Looking up, Zolf realized Cel's face was burning, the redness even reaching their ears, and they were looking anywhere but at Zolf.

“I, ah, I think I’ll—you were on a break, I’m sorry for intruding! I’ll just—” They practically leapt out of their chair, stammering. “Thank—Thank you for your time, Zolf! I’ll just be going now. Yes. Going. Goodbye.”

And with that, Zolf was left alone feeling like he’d been hit by a storm. Cel was truly unlike anyone he had ever met before. He laughed a little to himself, still processing the chaos that just descended upon his quiet day. He had a lot to think about.

And, luckily, he was pretty good at weathering storms.


End file.
